Editing False memory syndrome (section)

=== Malpractice cases ===
During the late 1990s, there were multiple lawsuits in the United States in which psychiatrists and psychologists were successfully sued, or settled out of court, on the charge of propagating [[iatrogenic]] memories of [[childhood sexual abuse]], [[incest]], and [[satanic ritual abuse]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/dissociative-identity-disorder/recovered-memory-lawsuit-sparks-litigation | title = Recovered Memory Lawsuit Sparks Litigation | publisher = Psychiatrictimes.com | access-date = 2010-12-12 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180507091240/https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/dissociative-identity-disorder/recovered-memory-lawsuit-sparks-litigation |archive-date = 2018-05-07}}</ref>

Some of these suits were brought by individuals who later declared that their [[recovered memories]] of incest or satanic ritual abuse had been false. The [[False Memory Syndrome Foundation]] uses the term ''retractors'' to describe these individuals, and has shared their stories publicly.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Macdonald |first1=Gail |title=Making of an Illness: My Experience With Multiple Personality Disorder |access-date=31 July 2013 |year=1999 |publisher=Laurentian University Press |location=Sudbury, Ontario  |isbn=978-0-88667-045-0  |chapter=Women Against Women |page=111 |chapter-url= http://www.stopbadtherapy.com/retracts/macdonald.shtml }}</ref> There is debate regarding the total number of retractions as compared to the total number of allegations,<ref name="Whitfield1995">{{cite book | last = Whitfield M.D. | first = Charles L. | title = Memory and Abuse&nbsp;– Remembering and Healing the Effects of Trauma | publisher = Health Communications, Inc | year = 1995 |location=Deerfield Beach, FL | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=z1LW3u1e04YC&pg=PA83 83] | isbn = 978-1-55874-320-5 }}</ref> and the reasons for retractions.<ref name="Summit">{{cite journal | last = Summit | first = R. | year = 1983 | title = The child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome | journal = Child Abuse & Neglect | volume = 7 | issue = 2 | pages = 177–93  | doi =  10.1016/0145-2134(83)90070-4 | pmid=6605796}}</ref>

==== Injuries resulting from malpractice ====
Sexual abuse of children and adolescents can lead to severe negative consequences. Child sexual abuse is a risk factor for many classes of psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorders, affective disorders, dissociative disorders and personality disorders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fmsfonline.org/?ginterest=ProfessionalStatements|title=False Memory Syndrome Foundation|website=www.fmsfonline.org|language=en|access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref>{{failed verification |reason = links to a list of proffessional org statements, unclear how it has anything to do with preceding sentence|date=June 2023}} Failure to meet recognized medical standards by psychiatrists causes injury to patients and the accused. Ramona v. Isabella was a prominent case of malpractice in 1994. A California jury awarded $500,000 to Gary Ramona, whose daughter Holly had falsely accused him of sexual abuse as a child, based on false memories retrieved by therapists during treatment for bulimia. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Burton Bach dismissed Holly Ramona's civil case against her father, holding that the outcome of her father's malpractice suit had resolved the issue of whether any abuse took place. The Washington Post titled the article ''Sex Abuse Suit Dismissed in False-Memory Case'' on December 14, 1994.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title=The Clinical Corner: Third-Party Liability in Repressed Memory Cases: Recent Legal Developments|last1=Mertz|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Bowman|first2=Cynthia|date=1998|doi = 10.1037/e300392004-003}}</ref> There were numerous cases brought to trial in the 1990s. Most included combinations of the misuse of hypnosis, guided imagery, [[sodium amytal]], and anti-depressants.

The term "false memory syndrome" describes the phenomenon in which a mental therapy patient "remembers" an event such as childhood sexual abuse, that never occurred.<ref name=":0" /> The link between certain therapy practices and the development of psychological disorders such as [[dissociative identity disorder]] comes from malpractice suits and state licensure actions against therapists. These cases demonstrate the ease with which an individual can be led to exhibit dissociative symptoms, especially when hypnosis, sodium amytal, strong medications, or readings involving traumatic imagery magnify the effect of therapist suggestions or expectations.{{Medical citation needed|date=December 2018}} These cases also show that once the symptoms become established, the standard treatment modality often leads to a deterioration of the mental and emotional well-being of the patient.{{Medical citation needed|date=December 2018}}